College Students Heckle “Boys Don’t Cry” Director & Accuse Her Of Transphobia

Lesbian filmmaker Kimberly Pierce, known in the queer community for her 1999 biopic Boys Don’t Cry, was heckled by students at Oregon’s Reed College.

Students who were outraged by her decision to cast cisgender Hilary Swank rather than a transgender man to play the lead role came to the event with signs that read, “F#ck you transphobia” and “You don’t f#cking get it.” Others raised concerns over the themes in the film and accused her of glorifying rape and violence against trans people, and making a cis filmmaker turning a profit off the death of Brandon Teena, a trans man.

Earlier, posters advertising Peirce’s appearance at Reed had been torn down.

On the podium where Peirce was to speak was a placard that read “Fuck this cis white bitch!”

After the protestors continually shouted over her, the filmmaker left the room. She returned when rules were established for the discussion, but the event soon descended into name-calling again.

After one student yelled “Fuck you scared bitch,” they all filed out and Peirce left campus.

Dean of Faculty Nigel Nicholson condemned the demonstrators, stating that they “were not animated by the spirit of inquiry or the desire to learn that usually animates Reed audiences.”

“The students had already decided what they thought and came to the question-and-answer session to make their judgments known, not to listen and engage.”

For those that don’t know, Boys Don’t Cry focused on the story of Brandon Teena. In 1993 Brandon was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska by John L. Lotter and Marvin Thomas “Tom” Nissen.

The film went on to win many awards, including an Academy Award for Hilary Swank for Best Actress.